An extension of the Common Sense Journalism monthly column by Doug Fisher, former broadcaster, newspaper reporter and wire service editor. From new media to old, much of journalism is just plain common sense."In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Unknown (often improperly attributed to Thomas Jefferson)
"It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it." - Upton Sinclair
"Common sense is not so common" - Voltaire
"Common sense is instinct; enough of it is genius" - George Bernard Shaw

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Online headlines: Sometimes you must think about the long tail

Online headlines live forever.

It's worth remembering that when you see a hed like this days and weeks after a person's death:

The news of the moment might be that this famous order caller at The Beacon restaurant will "lie in repose," though one might suggest the headline is pretty dull for such a well-known character (and is "in repose" really conversational)?

But two days from now, when people are still coming to your site for this news, or five, 10 or 30 days later, you can look silly with this head.

Do it if you must for the moment - but then update it later.

(There is a later story about Stroble's funeral, but the problem I see is that this earlier story is the "base" story - the big take-out on his life that is likely to be the main one people come back to down the road.)

4 Comments:

I normally agree with you, Doug, but I'm unclear about this issue. This story is not the "base" JC Stroble story. This one is the base: http://www.goupstate.com/article/20130826/ARTICLES/130829746

The story you point out is simply a middle story between the initial notice and the funeral story. And all the related stories are displayed down the left side of the page, indicating the timeline of the story. This is just a part of that timeline.

Tom:I don't think the story you link to is the "base" as I define it. Yes, it is the first story, but the one I link to is the one that brings Stroble's live to -- well -- life. It's the one more likely to show up in search engines (in fact, it was on top of the pile when I checked yesterday). So this is the first hed you see.It's great that you have all the stories listed - that's the way it should be. But we can't just do one-and-done on headlines in this case. Many times the original will suffice. But one of the problems with trad newsrooms has been not understanding the long tail and how to work within it. This is an example, I think.

About Me

Yes, I do coaching and consulting. That is the only shameless commerce you'll get from me here. Go to the bottom of the blog for more details.
Who am I: A longtime print and broadcast reporter/editor/producer and then AP news editor who now professes journalism at the University of South Carolina. (But please note, nothing on this blog represents official university policy or sentiment. If it did, I'd be very concerned.)My point: That journalism is a great occupation, that most journalism is common sense and that our problems arise when we sometimes don't use it.What's covered: My interests center on editing and writing and on editors and the challenges they face in a changing environment. I'm convinced editors are not being trained enough to face these challenges, but that common sense rules the day. I'm heavily involved in Newsplex, the new-media newsroom at the University of South Carolina. But my interests are wide-ranging, so anything, from ethics to some aspects of Web design, is fair game.
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